1850 P3CS Three Cent Silver, Judd-125 Original, Pollock-147,
R.4--Capped Die--PR60 ANACS. Radiated Liberty cap design on the
obverse with a palm branch encircling the Roman numeral III in the
center of the reverse. Struck in silver with a plain edge. While
not an especially rare pattern, the J-125 is a popular one and one
struck in the early years of pattern production. This piece was
last offered at public auction in our September 1997 Long Beach
Sale, where it was described as, "This is one of the most
fascinating errors we have ever seen. We could never have even
imagined that an error could occur with patterns because of the
very short die run of each and the close supervision they received
by mint personnel. (Which makes one wonder also how this escaped
the mint.) A capped die is created when after striking, the struck
coin sticks to the upper die, becomes attached to it, and covers
the face of that upper die. Repeated strikings afterward will make
the design on the bottom of the cap weaker and flatter. On this
piece apparently quite a few brockages were struck from this capped
die as the obverse details are quite indistinct. Light gray patina
is seen over each side and the perfectly formed reverse has heavy
die striations in the fields." Six years later, this piece still
stands as one of the most fascinating errors we have ever
encountered.
The surfaces are lightly toned with rose and Prussian-blue toning
over each side. A couple of tiny marks are seen on the reverse
wreath, but frankly, the grade of this coin is irrelevant--it has
little bearing on the value, desirability, and collectibility of
this presumably unique item.Ex: Herbert Spencer Collection (Bowers and Merena, 6/96), lot
1191, where it brought $1,980; September 1997 Long Beach Sale
(Heritage, 9/97), lot 7916, where it realized $2,550.From the Holman Family Collection. (#11536) (PCGS# 11536)